Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) looks set to be released in mid-May, after Microsoft completed work on the package, according to reports.
The company would only confirm that it recently notified some testers of a new build, but declined to say whether that was a release candidate, dubbed 'RC' in software development parlance.
Vista SP2 RC's release was first reported Thursday by Ars Technica , which claimed that a group of invitation-only testers had been told of its availability via Windows Update, Microsoft's update service.
Late last month, the Malaysian Web site TechARP.com said that Vista SP2, the next major update to the problem-plagued operating system, was ready as a release candidate 'escrow' build, and would make it to RC no later than Friday.
The final version of Vista SP2, said TechARP, will be a release-to-manufacturing (RTM) build that should be ready sometime in the first half of the second calendar quarter - in other words, before mid-May.
Microsoft, meanwhile, stuck to a broader second-quarter target for Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. "Microsoft distributed notification of an update to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 testers in an effort to gain additional feedback," a spokeswoman said in response to questions. "We will have more to share on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 soon."
The one public version of Vista SP2 issued so far was the beta posted in early December 2008.
Elsewhere, TechARP also recently reported that Microsoft has told its hardware partners that it will not provide them with an OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) containing Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 until 60 days after the general availability of Windows 7, Vista's successor. Previously, TechARP had said that computer makers would not be required to use Vista SP2 on new hardware, as is usually the case when the Microsoft finishes an update of that size.
"Don't expect to see any products with Windows Vista SP2 or Windows Server 2008 SP2 until at least two-to-three months have passed after Windows 7 is launched," the site said earlier this month. "End-users, though, can receive Service Pack 2 via Windows Update."
Microsoft released a public beta of Windows 7 on January 10, but as of yet, it has not set a timetable for the new operating system's release.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Windows Vista SP2 Release Set for May
Google Apps Dashboard Provides Downtime Details
Google has made good on a promise to keep its customers better informed of service outages by introducing a new dashboard for Google Apps.
The feature comes after Gmail went down for a couple of hours worldwide due to a coding problem, although Google said last year it would make more efforts to inform customers after several Gmail outages last August.
The Google Apps Status Dashboard shows a list of applications such as Gmail, Video and Docs and a green check if the service is up, according to the company's enterprise blog.
If not, it shows either a red 'x' representing a service outage, a yellow wrench for a service disruption or a blue 'i' icon for more information. The dashboard also has an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed.
The dashboard will be available to subscribers to Google Apps, the company's hosted suite of collaboration, messaging and office productivity services.
Nokia to Launch Laptop Range
Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has revealed it is considering launching a range of business laptops.
According to Reuters, Nokia's CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo confirmed the move during an interview on Finnish TV.
"We are looking very actively also at this opportunity," Kallasvuo said in answer to whether the phone manufacturer would diversify into the laptop market.
"We don't have to look even for five years from now to see that what we know as a mobile phone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging. Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication."
Nokia's admission comes after laptop manufacturer Acer revealed at this month's Mobile World Congress it will be launching a range of smartphones later this year. The Tempo handsets will run the Windows Mobile platform and will offer super-fast web access, built-in GPS and 5Mp cameras.
Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, told Reuters: "All leading mobile network operators and retailers are adding connected notebooks and netbooks to their portfolios alongside mobile phones. On this basis it comes as no surprise that Nokia is evaluating this segment".
Sify Launches Cricket Streaming for Ind-NZ Series
Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Venkata Rao Mallineni, Head of Portals and Consumer Marketing, Sify Technologies Limited, had this to say: "We are extremely happy to bring the series live to a global audience on Sify.com, aimed at providing viewers with the convenience of watching the game from wherever they happen to be."
We checked out the service at sify, the scorecard updates every minute or so. If you have a broadband internet connection, click on the "Watch Live Streaming" button (find it under the "Full Scorecard" page) to start watching YouTube-like streaming video of the cricket match in progress.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Gambhir powers India to victory on Murali's day
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan completed a record bowling double before a Gautam Gambhir-inspired India scored a challenging 332-5 in the fourth one-day international on Thursday.
Left-handed opener Gambhir smashed a career-best 150 off 147 balls for his sixth hundred in one-dayers to boost his team's chances of posting their record ninth successive win.
India lead 3-0 in the five-match series, having already beaten England 5-0 at home last year.
Off-spinner Muralitharan, the world's leading bowler in Test cricket, became the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals when he dismissed Gambhir for his 503rd victim.
The 36-year-old Sri Lankan surpassed former Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram's one-day record when he had Gambhir caught by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara in his 10th and last over.
Muralitharan also holds the world record in Tests with 769 wickets in 125 matches.
Gambhir and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (94) dominated the Sri Lankan attack with a wide range of attacking shots, adding 188 for the second wicket after the early dismissal of in-form Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag, who scored 116 in the last match, contributed just five this time before uppishly driving fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara to Sanath Jayasuriya at mid-off in the third over.
Sri Lanka then had to wait for more than 30 overs for their next success as Gambhir and Dhoni made the most of a mediocre attack on a slow pitch. The hosts' fielding also left a lot to be desired under pressure.
Gambhir was the first to reach his half-century, hoisting seamer Angelo Mathews over long-on for a six. Dhoni also completed his fifty in style, swinging Muralitharan over mid-wicket for a six.
Dhoni, who promoted himself in the batting order, fell six short of his fifth hundred in one-dayers when he mistimed a shot off left-arm spinner Jayasuriya, with Dilhara Fernando taking a one-handed catch at point.
The Indian skipper hit two sixes and four boundaries in his 96-ball knock.
Kulasekara then bowled Yuvraj Singh for five and Yusuf Pathan for no score off successive deliveries to raise his team's hopes of restricting India.
But there was no stopping Gambhir, who reached his century with a lofted four over covers off Kulasekara. He hit one six and 14 fours before being the fifth man out.
Gambhir added 103 for the fifth wicket with Suresh Raina, who remained unbeaten with a 37-ball 49.
Microsoft Ad Gadget to Launch in April
Microsoft has unveiled a beta version of a gadget that displays a small window of information when users hover over or click on an underlined word on a web page. A link to Gaze, which is similar to a feature on Yahoo's web pages, can be embed by website owners into their pages. Visitors to the page will know that a word has a link because either it is underlined or accompanied by a small icon that sits next to the word. If a user clicks on the link, a small box pops up that includes information about the word and an advertisement or an offer. Mario Esposito, a developer in Microsoft's AdCenter Labs, said in a blog that end-users can either hover over or click on the link. It's unclear if that means that a link could work both ways or if site publishers have the option to make the links require a click or open when users hover over them. In an example on the blog post, 'Madonna' is underlined and, in perhaps an odd error on the blog, a small box with information and links about Jennifer Lopez appears. The feature looks much like one that Yahoo uses on its own web pages. Esposito added that the technology will be officially unveiled on April 15. Microsoft's AdCenter Labs is a research group that develops new advertising technologies. The team designed the algorithms behind Microsoft AdCenter products such as Paid Search, Content Ads and Behavioral Targeting. |
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XP to Windows 7 'Upgrade' Scheme Announced
Microsoft will help users upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 by selling upgrade media, but warned XP users they must do a "clean" installation of Windows 7. That means all data on the XP machine will be lost.
"Regarding XP, customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade licence to move from Windows XP to Windows 7," a Microsoft spokeswoman told Computerworld US. "However, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7."
In a follow-up reply to questions, the spokeswoman fleshed out what Microsoft means by upgrade. "The 'upgrade' part is referring to the licence," she said. "You will be able to get the discounted 'upgrade' licence, but it will include full bits."
That's how David Smith, an analyst with Gartner, interpreted 'upgrade' in Microsoft's description of what it would offer XP owners. "They're talking about the upgrade price," he said, pointing out that most software vendors use the term to designate a lower-priced version aimed at existing customers.
Although Microsoft Tuesday spelled the six planned versions of Windows 7, it declined to provide pricing for them, or for the XP upgrade licences.
Typically, an operating system upgrade offers users the choice between an in-place migration of the machine - including installed applications and all data - and a fresh installation, which overwrites the hard drive's contents. When Microsoft launched Windows Vista in January 2007, for example, it offered people then running XP those upgrade paths.
Smith and other analysts applauded Microsoft's decision to not provide in-place upgrades from XP to Windows 7. "I'm not a big fan of them," said Smith. "They're tough enough from one version to the next, and from two versions [behind], it would be pretty challenging, technically."
Michael Gartenberg, formerly an analyst at JupiterResearch, and now a vice president of mobile strategy with JupiterMedia, agreed. "For most end users, it will probably mean that they end up with a more reliable installation," he said.
Microsoft benefits, too. "It makes life a lot easier for Microsoft by not having to support an XP to Windows 7 transition," said Gartenberg. "It means that it's something they can get out the door earlier."
Microsoft has been aggressively pushing Windows 7's timetable. Just two weeks after it launched the first - and in the end, the only - public beta of the new operating system, the head of Windows development said the company is moving directly to 'release candidate' directly to 'release candidate'.
But the process of upgrading a PC from Windows XP to Windows 7 won't be easy, Gartenberg predicted. "It's a double-edged sword. For many consumers who may be looking to go directly from XP to Windows 7, the idea of doing a clean install, backing up their applications, backing up their data, can lead to a lot of hassles," he said.
"Considering that there's a lot of XP out there, one has to wonder why Microsoft is taking this approach," Gartenberg added. "It's not going to be the simplicity of sticking a disc in the drive and upgrading. We'll have to see if that affects the upgrade market."
Microsoft said it was working on ways to help Windows XP users make the move, but would not get specific. "Microsoft plans to have other tools and ways to help people get through that process, but we don't have full details on that at this time," the company's spokesman said today.
